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News: September 2007
Medical Council misses its chance
Greg Baxter | 28 September 2007 | Regulation
The lack of voluntary participation in the Medical Council’s pilot self-regulation schemes and the “lukewarm commitment to them from some” is a missed opportunity to show that the profession is serious about learning from past mistakes, the former president of... Read more
Hygiene audit results to be published in October
Greg Baxter | 28 September 2007 | Hospital Medicine
The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) will publish results of the third national hygiene audit in October. It is the first National Hygiene Quality Review undertaken by the Authority. HIQA’s Director of Healthcare Quality, Mr Jon Billings, said: “The... Read more
Healthcare centre is likely to be built in Dublin 6 area
Ian McGuinness | 28 September 2007 | Planning and Development
A three-storey residence in Dublin 6 could be made into a healthcare centre. A planning application was submitted by Mr Dara Reynolds, seeking permission to change the use of the house at 74 Terenure Road East. It is also planned... Read more
Consultation rooms are set to become Lithuanian embassy
Ian McGuinness | 28 September 2007 | Planning and Development
A Dublin 4 house that was used as medical consulting rooms is to be converted into an embassy for the Republic of Lithuania, according to Dublin City Council documentation. According to documents in the planning file, Consultant Urologist, Mr Peter... Read more
Refurbishment for Crumlin Hospital
Ian McGuinness | 28 September 2007 | Planning and Development
Crumlin Hospital has new plans for its bone marrow transplant and oncology department. The Dublin 12 hospital recently applied to Dublin City Council for permission to demolish the existing facilities on site and replace them. The bone marrow transplant and... Read more
Healthcare facility to pay €4,000 to ex-employee
Ian McGuinness | 28 September 2007 | Medico-Legal
A private healthcare facility has been ordered to pay €4,000 to a former employee, after the Equality Tribunal found that it discriminated against her on the grounds of disability. The facility involved was a private hospital that treats patients who... Read more
IHCA returns to talks
Greg Baxter | 28 September 2007 | Industrial Relations
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) returns to bilateral contract talks this week as disagreements over working hours and remuneration issues threatened to draw all sides once again into a stalemate. The IHCA released a statement outlining management’s position on... Read more
HSE says in-date vaccines should not be sent back
Ian McGuinness | 28 September 2007 | Public Health
GPs, health centres and hospitals have been told to be careful not to send vaccines that are in-date back to the Health Service Executive (HSE). The HSE National Cold Chain Delivery Service, which takes returns of out-of-date vaccines, has told... Read more
No central fund for psychiatric patients
Ian McGuinness | 28 September 2007 | Health Management
Concerns have been expressed to Irish Medical Times that no central fund appears to exist to allow psychiatric services to fight High Court and Circuit Court cases in relation to involuntary detention of patients. IMT has been told that individual... Read more
Health risks for organ donors
28 September 2007 | Foreign News
A worldwide shortage of organs has forced many people with end-stage illnesses to rely on living donors– either relatives, or strangers from poorer countries where organs can be obtained cheaply– to donate kidneys, liver sections, lung lobes, skin and bones... Read more
NEDOC-HSE medical card row resolved after two years
Sandra Ryan | 28 September 2007 | General Practice
GPs in the North East out-of-hours service (NEDOC) have resolved a two-year row with the Health Service Executive (HSE) over providing services to patients with GP-only medical cards. According to chairperson of the co-op, Dr Ursula Keane, they have negotiated... Read more
Japan: Healthcare costs rise with ageing population
28 September 2007 | Foreign News
Japan's growing elderly population is threatening to overwhelm its health and nursing care systems, a report from Reuters has claimed. The agency said on the surface, healthcare, funded by individual premiums, taxes and treatment fees and covering more or less... Read more
Medical Council gets female vice-president
Sandra Ryan | 28 September 2007 | Regulation
The Director of the Women’s Health Programme in the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP), Dr Ailis Ni Riain has been elected Vice-President of the Medical Council. Dr Ni Riain is the first female GP to take the role, and... Read more
Tanzania: Government HIV tests a success despite stigma
28 September 2007 | Foreign News, Public Health
The people of Arusha in Tanzania have come out in large numbers for a voluntary HIV screening programme introduced regionally by the government in July. President Jakaya Kikwete’s testing programme began on 9 September and 167,118 people are expected to... Read more
Non-urgent hospital procedures delayed
Greg Baxter | 28 September 2007 | Hospital Medicine
A Leitrim GP who refers patients on a regular basis to Sligo General Hospital says the cutbacks at the hospital could leave many patients waiting more than four years to get non-urgent procedures like varicose vein surgery. Dr Sean Bourke... Read more
UK: Ban on docs white coats on way
28 September 2007 | Foreign News
New Department of Health regulations aimed at stopping the spread of hospital-borne infections will see doctors being banned from wearing white coats, neckties and jewellery in hospitals. “Ties are rarely laundered but worn daily,” the Department of Health said in... Read more
Discontented make up majority of non-voters
Sandra Ryan | 28 September 2007 |
People dissatisfied with the health service are the ones who won’t vote in elections, new research carried out in the UCD School of Economics has found. The study, part of the Health Research Board’s (HRB) seven-year Health Status and Health... Read more
US: Doctors not good on drug warnings
28 September 2007 | Foreign News
A new study in the US, reported by Fox News, has shown that doctors aren’t doing a very good job of warning young women to avoid getting pregnant when they’re taking prescription drugs that can cause birth defects. Nearly half... Read more
Doctors resign as Quinn Healthcare providers
Greg Baxter | 28 September 2007 | Regulation
A number of doctors in small specialities like neurosurgery and plastic surgery are threatening to resign– or have resigned– as preferred providers for Quinn Healthcare over concerns that the insurer will not meet full costs of many procedures. Quinn Healthcare... Read more
HSE needs to be more transparent- FG spokesperson
Ian McGuinness | 28 September 2007 | Health Management
Fine Gael’s new Spokesperson on Health, Dr James Reilly, has suggested the Health Service Executive (HSE) needs to be restructured to allow for more accountability. The Dublin North TD told Irish Medical Times there was more public accountability under the... Read more
IHCA warns of cut-backs yet to come
Greg Baxter | 28 September 2007 | Hospital Medicine
Massive staff cutbacks at Sligo General Hospital are just the “tip of the iceberg”, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has warned. Mr Donal Duffy, Assistant Secretary General of the IHCA, said the Health Service Executive’s (HSE’s) insistence that the... Read more
Massive research project concludes
Sandra Ryan | 28 September 2007 | Research and Education
Seven years ago, a major research programme was launched at University College Dublin (UCD), funded by the Health Research Board’s (HRB) Unit for Health Status and Health Gain. Headed by public health specialist Prof Cecily Kelleher, the research project involved... Read more
Gold standard Dublin clinic
Greg Baxter | 28 September 2007 | General Practice
The Slievemore Clinic in south Dublin is still a building site, but the massive, multi-level structure, when it is finished, will be the gold standard for independent, large group practices. Notably, the Health Service Executive (HSE) could have played a... Read more
The man is definitely up to the challenge
Ian McGuinness | 28 September 2007 | Interviews
Taking up the post of Fine Gael spokesperson on health was a natural progression from his role in representing the interests of doctors and patients, according to Dr James Reilly. Referring to his activity in the Irish Medical Organisation, and... Read more
Doctor appeals against erasure
Ed Madden | 28 September 2007 | Medico-Legal
Dr Juamer Ibrahim Amin Baldar, who is Iraqi by origin, came to the UK in 1994 where he sought and obtained asylum; he is now a British citizen. In 2004, he was convicted of common assault arising out a road... Read more
IHCA returns to talks
Greg Baxter | 28 September 2007 | Hospital Medicine
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) returns to bilateral contract talks this week as disagreements over working hours and remuneration issues threatened to draw all sides once again into a stalemate. The IHCA released a statement outlining management’s position on... Read more
Australia: Call for urgent rural funding
21 September 2007 | Foreign News
Significant and urgent funding is needed to address the healthcare crisis in rural Australia, and all political parties should use the upcoming federal election to put forward solutions to bridge the gap between rural and urban health care, according to... Read more
China: Skull health warnings on China's cigarette packs
21 September 2007 | Foreign News, Public Health
Chinese cigarette packs will have skulls, blackened teeth or diseased lungs printed on them in the latest effort to tackle smoking, a Reuters report has claimed. The report, however, cited one expert who said the images may actually attract younger... Read more
New Zealand: Boost for general practice training
21 September 2007 | Foreign News, General Practice
The Royal College of General Practitioners in New Zealand has welcomed the news that the Minister of Health has approved the doubling of the postgraduate training places for general practice to more than 100. The college said the government’s move... Read more
USA: Companies penalise unhealthy workers
21 September 2007 | Foreign News
Some healthcare experts have criticised the trend in the US where companies are making workers with health risks pay more for insurance and in some cases docking pay if workers are obese or have conditions such as high blood pressure.... Read more
Swiftcare Clinic has opened in Swords
Greg Baxter | 21 September 2007 | Health Management
Vhi’s Swiftcare Clinic in Swords began treating patients last week, a Vhi spokeswoman has told Irish Medical Times. The clinic, the third Swiftcare to open in Dublin, is operating at full capacity, she said, providing community-based diagnostics in addition to... Read more
Tullamore development is set to proceed after objection is dropped
Ian McGuinness | 21 September 2007 | Planning and Development
The building of an acute hospital and primary care centre in Tullamore, Co Offaly can proceed after an objection to it was dropped. John Flanagan Developments Ltd was given planning permission for its proposal in July by Offaly County Council... Read more
Doctors need to be more accountable
Greg Baxter | 21 September 2007 | Regulation
The former president of the Medical Council, Dr John Hillery, has urged doctors to be less “fussy” and become more accountable, as individuals, for the entire profession. Dr Hillery said the profession had the chance to put the public interest... Read more
Extra €1.375bn is spent on health
Ian McGuinness | 21 September 2007 | Health Management
About €1.375 billion extra was spent on health in the first eight years of this year compared to 2006, even though just an extra €1.1 billion was allocated for all of 2007. The most up-to-date figures on health spending refer... Read more
Irish are positive about their health and well-being
Sandra Ryan | 21 September 2007 | Public Health
A survey by the European Commission has found that Irish people are the most positive of all Europeans when assessing their own health, although this could be because people are reluctant to examine their health to closely, the study authors... Read more
Little evidence to back centralised cancer care
Sandra Ryan | 21 September 2007 | Public Health
A study by the National Cancer Registry (NCRI) examining cancer treatment and survival rates found little evidence to support centralising services, the Director of the NCRI, Dr Harry Comber, told Irish Medical Times. The study, which looked at figures from... Read more
Competition for community building in Kerry opened
Ian McGuinness | 21 September 2007 |
The development of a ‘high-support’ community building for mental health patients in Kerry has moved forward, after companies were invited to compete for the contract to build the facility. The Kerry Mental Health Association is to construct the residential structure... Read more
Site could house 215 apartments
Ian McGuinness | 21 September 2007 | Planning and Development
Two hundred and fifteen apartments might be built on a site that was formerly part of St Joseph’s Hospital in Clonsilla in Dublin 15. Firth Developments Limited applied to Fingal County Council for permission to develop four blocks of apartments,... Read more
Pharmacists to have drug payments cut
Sandra Ryan | 21 September 2007 | Public Health
The decision by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to cut drug payments to pharmacists could lead to the closure of many rural pharmacies, according to the president of the Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU) Mr Michael Guckian. The IPU reacted with... Read more
Patient discharged with little support or care
Ian McGuinness | 21 September 2007 | Public Health
An 80-year-old woman with severe heart disease was discharged from hospital with only her 80-year-old husband to care for her, it has emerged. The citizens’ information, advice and advocacy group, Comhairle, revealed the development recently in one of its documents.... Read more
Variations in scripts
Sandra Ryan | 21 September 2007 |
A new study on prescribing trends heart disease has discovered wide variations in prescribing preventative drugs in people with diabetes. Dr Kathleen Bennett and Dr Cara Usher from the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at St James’s Hospital inventigated regional... Read more
Dramatic rise in people with full medical cards
Ian McGuinness | 21 September 2007 | Public Health
There was a dramatic rise in the number of people who had a medical card last months, with 10,483 additional patients possessing one in September compared to August. The latest statistics show that there was a rise of 8,983 people... Read more
Prof Drumm to receive €80,000 bonus
Greg Baxter | 21 September 2007 | Health Management
Prof Brendan Drumm will receive a bonus of €80,000 to reward him for “performance and accomplishments during 2006”, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has announced. Last week, the HSE vehemently denied media reports that Prof Drumm had applied for a... Read more
A teaching pack for healthy ageing
Greg Baxter | 21 September 2007 | Research and Education
A teaching pack on the assessment and management of medical rehabilitation problems in older people has been launched by Aois agus Eolas, the Centre for Ageing, Neuroscience and the Humanities at Tallaght Hospital. The teaching pack, AgePages, includes a list... Read more
Lack of transport impacts on patients
Ian McGuinness | 21 September 2007 | Public Health
A lone parent from Glenties in Donegal, who was on welfare, had to pay €207 for a taxi to take her son to an appointment with a consultant in Sligo because she had no other way to get there, Comhairle... Read more
Primary care centre gets the go-ahead
Ian McGuinness | 21 September 2007 | Planning and Development
A primary care centre can be built in Mitchelstown in Co Cork, after an appeal by those opposed to it failed at An Bord Pleanála. The centre, which will be located over a basement car park, will also contain three... Read more
IHCA group to assess talks' progress
Greg Baxter | 21 September 2007 | Industrial Relations
The contract negotiating group of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) will meet this week to discuss progress on talks, the Association’s Assistant General Secretary told Irish Medical Times. Mr Donal Duffy said the group would evaluate its position on... Read more
RCSI seeks advice on ownership of Osborne painting
Sandra Ryan | 21 September 2007 |
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is receiving legal advice to determine the ownership of a famous painting by the Irish impressionist Walter Osborne, donated to consultants in the Richmond Hospital in Dublin over 100 years ago by... Read more
Continuing to fight the stigma of HIV and AIDS
Ian McGuinness | 21 September 2007 | Interviews
Stigma against people with HIV or AIDS is a problem in both Ireland and South Africa but when James O’Connor spent two-and-a-half months in the latter country he heard some dramatic stories. Mr O’Connor, who is living with HIV, said... Read more
Woman sued cosmetic surgery company
Ed Madden | 21 September 2007 | Medico-Legal
In July 2000, when she was 48-years-old, Maria Taylor Flynn was overweight, weighing approximately 15 stone. She saw an advertisement in a magazine for a clinic which was owned by Advanced Cosmetic Surgery Limited (the company). The advert showed an... Read more
Men’s health needs to be advanced
Sandra Ryan | 21 September 2007 | Public Health
Most men probably don’t like thinking (or talking) about prostate cancer, or the more common condition Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH). But the fact is, these same men are probably not aware of the risks, or the services and treatment available... Read more
Australia: Drug recalled after deaths
Emer Mullins | 14 September 2007 | Foreign News
A painkiller used by an estimated 60,000 Australians has been ordered off the shelves after the deaths of two people, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. The newspaper reported that the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) had... Read more
Canada establishes a mental health board
14 September 2007 | Foreign News
Prime Minister of Canada Mr Stephen Harper has named 17 people– including people with mental illness– to a new mental health board he said was set up to lead a “national campaign to erase the stigma of mental illness”. Liiberal... Read more
Japan: Medical expenses rise for third year
14 September 2007 | Foreign News
Expenses paid to medical facilities in Japan in 2005 rose 3.2 per cent from the previous year to a record 33.13 trillion yen, breaking the record for the third consecutive year, the government was quoted in a report in japantoday.com.... Read more
UK: New finance figures put NHS back in the black
Emer Mullins | 14 September 2007 | Foreign News
The National Health Service (NHS) will have nearly UK£1 billion sitting in the bank by spring, according to figures reported in the Daily Record. It added that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would spend the UK£983 million surplus... Read more
USA: Doctors opting out of single-handed practices
14 September 2007 | Foreign News
A new survey in the USA has shown that growing numbers of doctors are opting to leave their single practices for group employment or specialty groups. The Centre for Studying Health System Change, which carried out the survey between 1996... Read more
Self-harm information leaflet launched by HSE
Greg Baxter | 14 September 2007 | Public Health
An information leaflet on self-harm was launched by the Health Service Executive (HSE) South Regional Suicide Resource Offices in Cork to mark World Suicide Prevention Day earlier this week. The leaflets, which are targeted at young people, their parents, guardians... Read more
New authority in healthcare
Greg Baxter | 14 September 2007 | Public Health
The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) is growing at a rapid rate, both in responsibility and with new senior staff. Every day it is creeping more fully into the lives of patients, many of whom– who don’t read medical... Read more
Pandemic — a matter of time
Sandra Ryan | 14 September 2007 | Interviews
"If I had asked for one per cent of the royalties from sales of Tamiflu, I would now have one per cent of $1.7 billion,” said Prof Graeme Laver, the Australian scientist who was pivotal in the development of antiviral... Read more
South Dublin doctors set to challenge Touchstone
Greg Baxter | 14 September 2007 | General Practice
A group of independent GPs in south Dublin are challenging Touchstone, the primary care centre development company, and its model of large, all-in-one primary care centres. The Slievemore Clinic in Stillorgan will offer an “eclectic mix of disciplines,” according to... Read more
Gag clause is a hurdle in the consultant talks
Greg Baxter | 14 September 2007 | Industrial Relations
The Health Service Executive (HSE) wants to make it impossible for doctors to criticise the institutions they work for, as part of the new consultant contract. However, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) said it will defend the right of... Read more
HIQA handed cancer care investigations
Greg Baxter | 14 September 2007 |
An investigation into pathology and symptomatic breast disease services will be carried out by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) following the mis-diagnosis of cancer in a private patient receiving care in the Mid West. HIQA said the investigation... Read more
Binge drinking continues to be tolerated by society
Sandra Ryan | 14 September 2007 | Public Health
The director of the Irish College of General Practitioners’ (ICGP) alcohol abuse project has criticised the “blind eye” that continues to be turned towards binge drinking. Mr Rolande Anderson, commenting on recent findings from a World Health Organization (WHO) report,... Read more
Migraines prompt trips to A&Es
Sandra Ryan | 14 September 2007 | Public Health
A survey carried out by the Migraine Association of Ireland has found that 17 per cent of respondents have visited the A&E department as a result of their migraine attacks. The Association has launched a new poster for A&E units... Read more
The art in the health service
Greg Baxter | 14 September 2007 | Public Health
The Health Service Executive (HSE) West is teaming up with the Sligo Arts Service to create an arts and health service designed to aid mental health services, health promotion, social inclusion and family support services. The Sligo Arts Service and... Read more
Intercultural aims must be supported
Greg Baxter | 14 September 2007 | Research and Education
The Health Service Executive’s (HSE) intercultural strategy must have the financial support of the pharmaceutical industry, according to the chair of the National Action Plan Against Racism (NPAR) steering group, which partially funded and facilitated the strategy’s development. Ms Lucy... Read more
From medical centre to local takeaway
Ian McGuinness | 14 September 2007 | Planning and Development
A medical centre in north Dublin can be converted into a fast food takeaway after permission was granted for such a development by Fingal County Council. The applicants, Gary and Mark Fay, applied for permission for the development at Cruises... Read more
Announcements of staff appointments continue
Sandra Ryan | 14 September 2007 | Hospital Medicine
Two new consultants have been appointed at Cavan and Monaghan hospitals, despite the recruitment freeze announced by the Health Service Executive (HSE). The HSE announced that consultant surgeon Mr Emeka Nzewi and consultant in emergency medicine Mr Ashraff Butt have... Read more
HSE defends recruitment freeze
Greg Baxter | 14 September 2007 | Health Management
The Health Service Executive (HSE) has defended its decision to ban recruitment temporarily by claiming that it expects to exceed service-level targets in 2007. The HSE, which has overspent its budget by €170 million so far this year, has come... Read more
Limerick's graduate programme begins
Greg Baxter | 14 September 2007 | Research and Education
Ireland’s first graduate medical programme at the University of Limerick began last week with 32 students from a range of backgrounds, the director of the course told Irish Medical Times. Prof Paul Finucane said the programme is more than a... Read more
Men turn away from sexual health help
Sandra Ryan | 14 September 2007 | Public Health
A new report on men’s use of sexual health services has found that less than one in four men attend a general practitioner for sexual health reasons. The report, Men’s Use of Sexual Health Services, published by the HSE in... Read more
Suicide rates need urgent attention
Sandra Ryan | 14 September 2007 | Public Health
Ireland’s increasing suicide rates need urgent attention, the President of the Irish Association of Suicidology, Dan Neville, has said. Speaking at World Suicide Awareness Day recently, the Fine Gael TD said a recent survey shows 15 per cent of Irish... Read more
No pay increase on horizon for Prof Drumm
Greg Baxter | 14 September 2007 |
Prof Brendan Drumm has not asked for a pay rise, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has assured. The HSE CEO is not eligible for a pay rise because his contracted salary is not covered by the Review Body on Higher... Read more
US lab smear test results questioned
Sandra Ryan | 14 September 2007 |
A number of cervical smear tests which were sent to the US for analysis by the Health Service Executive (HSE) had to be sent back for review after staff at Cork University Hospital (CUH) discovered that at least two patients... Read more
Six-year wait for CUH is over
Greg Baxter | 14 September 2007 | Hospital Medicine
Construction of a new cardiac and dialysis unit at Cork University Hospital (CUH) has begun, six years after an €82.5 million (£65 million) pledge by former Minister for Health, Micheál Martin. He gave permission for the then Southern Health Board... Read more
Walking the fine white line
Dr Joyce Galbraith | 07 September 2007 | Features
In my youth “doing a line” meant having a steady relationship with someone of the opposite sex, but today of course it means someone has some sort of relationship with cocaine. And partying where there is craic agus ceoil today... Read more
Co-location will not increase beds
Greg Baxter | 07 September 2007 | Health Management, Private Healthcare
The co-location scheme will not increase private capacity, and the two hospitals will operate under as joint clinical governance structure, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has stated. HSE Assistant National Director Mr Tom Finn has stated: “the co-location policy simply... Read more
Stricter controls on drugs
Greg Baxter | 07 September 2007 | Regulation
Prof Brendan Drumm has intimated that much stricter controls on the ability of doctors to prescribe new and expensive medications will soon be introduced. Speaking with Irish Medical Times, Prof Drumm said: “The open access that we have allowed in... Read more
Expert groups in development
Greg Baxter | 07 September 2007 | Health Management
Four new expert advisory groups (EAGs) are under development while progress on the original four is ongoing, Prof Brendan Drumm told Irish Medical Times. Applicants have been shortlisted for work in the following three EAGs: Maternity Services, Oral Health, and... Read more
Opinion split on botox and migraines
Sandra Ryan | 07 September 2007 | Research and Education
The Director of the migraine clinic at Cork University Hospital, Dr Eddie O’Sullivan, has said there is not yet enough evidence to suggest botox should be offered to patients as a reliable first-line treatment for migraine, which affects thousands of... Read more
Merchants Quay work continues
Ian McGuinness | 07 September 2007 | Public Health
Two GPs who treat homeless patients on behalf of Merchants Quay Ireland, carried out an average of 18 such consultations per week last year. The MQI annual review for that year showed that there were 940 GP consultations in 2006.... Read more
Antiviral should be non-prescription
Sandra Ryan | 07 September 2007 | Public Health
Antiviral drugs should be stocked in every pharmacy in the country to save lives in case of an influenza pandemic, and should be available without prescription, according to a leading Australian ‘flu expert, who said the risk of a pandemic... Read more
RCSI appeals council's application refusal
Ian McGuinness | 07 September 2007 | Planning and Development
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) has appealed a decision by Dublin City Council which has refused it planning permission to extend its education and research centre at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin. The RCSI appealed this decision to An... Read more
Cappagh Hospital presses ahead with building new theatres
Ian McGuinness | 07 September 2007 | Hospital Medicine
Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital is pressing ahead with the building of four operating theatres and a 16-bed recovery area. The development will take place next to existing theatres and central sterile services department. While part of the development is a... Read more
HIQA to investigate breast services
Sandra Ryan | 07 September 2007 | Health Management
The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has begun a review of all hospitals providing symptomatic breast disease services, following a number of sites that have had to re-examine women’s tests to ensure quality of care. The review will be... Read more
New Act will end old working tradition
Greg Baxter | 07 September 2007 | Regulation
The new Medical Practitioner’s Act will end the old tradition of allowing doctors trained in parts of Australia, Canada and New Zealand to work in Ireland without having to prove credentials. According to Medical Council President Dr Colm Quigley, the... Read more
Final call for GPs to join PPR pilot project
Greg Baxter | 07 September 2007 | Regulation
The Medical Council has announced the final call for GPs to sign up for the Professional Practice Review (PPR) Pilot Project. The president of the council has called an opportunity to shape the future of the regulation of the medical... Read more
Battling against the spin
Greg Baxter | 07 September 2007 | Private Healthcare
An unofficial briefing document linked to the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO), which details the history behind the introduction of the public-private mix, attempts to set the record straight on the real reasons the health service, hospitals, insurers and consultants all... Read more
Medical school audit after serious defects found
Sandra Ryan | 07 September 2007 | Regulation, Research and Education
Serious deficits in medical education facilities have been found in a national audit of all training sites, jointly undertaken by the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Departments of Health and Children and Education and Science. Irish Medical Times understands... Read more
Senior house officer in UK took Tramadol while he was on duty
Ed Madden | 07 September 2007 | Medico-Legal
Dr Simon James, with a registered address in Hampshire in England, was employed by the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as a senior house officer in anaesthetics between January 2004 and January 2006. Morphine allergy excuse On 1 June 2005,... Read more
Times... are they a-changing?
Greg Baxter | 07 September 2007 | Health Management
Prof Brendan Drumm spent much of his first year as chief executive of the Health Service Executive (HSE) trying to persuade his critics that change was coming, and to urge healthcare professionals to embrace a new way of thinking. He... Read more